Glider kite



Feb. 21, 1967 H. A. SELLERS, JR 3,305,198

GLIDER KITE Filed Aug. 5, 1965 INVENTOR.

BY KAI-4.01 6i 541 Figo 5 w W I qt.

AHornep 3,305,198 GLllDER KlTE Harvey A. Sellers, Jr., 510 Wabash Ave., Decatur, Ill. 62525 Filed Aug. 3, 1965. Ser. No. 476,855 4 Claims. (Cl. 244153) This invention relates to a soaring and gliding kite structure having a central, elongated rod or bar on which is a sliding member hingedly and demountably carrying ends of spreading and tensioning, side rods, with a thin, flexible sheet of material such as paper, but preferably plastic, secured by corners respectively to at least both end portions of the central rod and outer end portions of the side rods.

A primary object of the invention resides in providing a shiftable, sliding member which may be variably positioned along the central rod to vary the lateral spacing of the side outer end portions of the side rods.

A further object of the invention is to provide a releasable means for positively securing the sliding member along the central rod.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a structure which, for shipping, storage, or carrying purposes, may be collapsed to bring the side rods into parallelism with the center rod and have the sheet material wrapped around those three rods into a rolled state.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a one piece sliding member in a form whereby the central rod passes through a bore centrally through the sliding member and the forward ends of the side rods enter each into a friction retaining socket, one socket on each lateral side of the bore, in a section of the member hinged to the central portion.

Further objects and advantages of the invention Will become apparent to those versed in the art from the following detailed description with reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a top plan View of a structure in its expanded condition;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the sliding member;

FIG. 3 is a view in rear elevation of the sliding member;

FIG. 4 is a view in side elevation of the sliding member mounted on the central rod;

FIG. 5 is a view in front elevation of the sliding member;

FIG. 6 is a view in section on the line 6-6 in FIG, 3; and

FIG. 7 is a view in side elevation of the sliding member mounted on the central rod and with a side rod carried thereby and angled upwardly to an operating position.

A cover sheet 10 of highly flexible material such as paper or fabric, but preferably of plastic is selected and formed to be approximately rectangular in size with one pair of side edges preferably longer than the other pair of side edges so as to have one diagonal line from corner to corner longer than the diagonal line between the other corners.

The frame of the kite comprises a central rod 11 preferably approximately square in cross-section, and two side rods 12 and 13, also preferably square in cross-section, and a slide member 14- carried by the central rod 11 and in turn receiving and holding end portions 17 and 1 8 of the side rods 12 and 13. The side rods are each square in cross-section, approximately of the same cross-sectional area as that of the central rod. All of these rods 11, 12 and 13 are made of light weight material depending in dimensions upon the use to be made of the kite. In one present structure these rods are made of a light weight wood.

United States Patent 0 The corners 19 and 20 of the cover 10 at the ends of the length of the longest diagonal line (represented by the central rod 11) are fixed along the undersides of the respective end portions 22 and 23 of the central rod 11 by any desired means such as a plastic adhesive.

The slide member 14 in the present form of the invention comprises a bendable plastic plate 24 carrying a rearwardly extending short length (about five-sixteenths of an inch) of a tube 25, the internal cross-section of which is square, through which tube 25 extends a bore 26 entering from the front side 24:: of the plate 24.

This plate 24 is inclined upwardly and rearwardly at an angle of approximately thirty degrees to the axis of the bore 26. The plate 24- has square sockets 27 and 28, one on each side of the central tube 25, the sockets being externally defined by lengths of tubes with axes normally parallel with the axis of the tube 25. The end portions 17 and 13 of the rods 12 and 13 are fitted into the sockets 27 and 28, the opposite ends remaining free.

The side rods 12 and 13 are shorter than the central rod 11 and also shorter than edges 29 and 30 of the cover 10. The free end portions 31 and 32 of the rods 12 and 13 have the corners 33 and 34 of the cover 10 fixed therealong by a suitable adhesive. The rods 12 and 13 are normally directed by the sockets 27 and 28 into the positions indicated by the dash lines, FIG. 1, in close proximity to the rod 11. In these normal positions, the lengths of the sides 29 and 30 are slack and the slide 14 is in its most forward position along the rod 11. The cover 10 along the center rod 11 remains in its constant degree of tautness as established upon originally securing the cover to the end portions of the rod 11.

To prepare the kite for flying, the slide 14 is pushed rearwardly along the rod 11, increasing the distance between it and the front end portion 22. In this rearward movement, the plate 24 bends in a hinging manner along inclined lines respectively between the tube 25 and the tube 28', and the tube 25 and the tube 27, which bending is set up by the induced travel of the side rod end portions 31 and 32 by reason of those end portions being fixed to the respective corners 33 and 34 of the cover. The initial travel of the rods is approximately parallel with the central rod 11 until the rod end portions 31 and 32 bring the cover corners 33 and 34 to their limit of rearward travel as set up by the lengths of the cover edges 29 and 311'. Following that limit of travel, farther movement of the rods 12 and 13 occasioned by farther travel of the slide 14, is had in the swinging outwardly and slightly upwardly of the rod end portions until the approximate limit is reached of stretching the cover corners 33 and 34 laterally from the center bar 11. This position of the slide 14 is maintained by a sprag 35 on the front side of the slide 14 which sprag is an integral part of the slide 14 and is normally, yieldingly directed downwardly and forwardly to engage in an abutment formed by a notch 36 across the rod 11. The sprag 35 may be readily lifted for return travel of the slide 14.

With the slide 14 in this rear position as indicated in FIG. 1, the kite is ready to be put into the air. To do so and to control the flying, a cord (not shown) is attached at a single zone indicated at 38 by punching a hole in that zone through the cover, through which hole, the cord is inserted and attached to the rod 11. The flying and gliding action of the kite may assume different characteristics depending upon the exact location of attachment. along the rod 11. No bridle is required. As the kite (frame on top of the cover) is put into the air, the cover folds upwardly in two arching shapes one on each side of the center rod 11 and between it and the respective spread apart side rods 12 and 13. The part of the cover 19 between the front of the center rod back to the slide 14 and along the forward sides of the side rods 12 and 13, comes into approximately a plane, which effect serves as a stabilizing factor together with the long, tail-like extension to the rear of the narrowing portion of the cover supported by the center rod 11.

While I have shown and described in detail my invention in the one form as now best known to me, it is obvious that structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I, therefore, do not desire to be limited to that precise form beyond the limitations which maybe imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A kite comprising a central rod with front and rear end portions;

a pair of side rods, one on each side of the central rod, and each rod having an outer and inner end;

a cover attached to said central rod front and rear end portions and also to each of said side rod outer end portions;

a slide slidably carried on said central rod between the zones of said cover attachment to the central rod;

said side rods having their inner ends attached to said slide, one at each side of the central rod;

said central rod having an abutment thereon over which said slide may travel in shifting along the central rod;

and a sprag carried by said slide depending normally from the forward end of the slide directed toward said central rod front end portion and dropping against said abutment upon sufiicient rearward travel away from said central rod forward end; and

hinge means carried by said slide, between said central rod and said side rod inner end portions permitting the side rods to swing upon rearward travel of the slide from positions along the sides of the central rod outwardly therefrom as limited by said cover being secured to the side rod outer end portions.

2. The structure of claim 1, in which said side rods, upon being swung outwardly by their outer ends by said slide rearward travel as limited by said cover attachment to those outer ends, define outer lines of a pair of upwardly arching Wings, one on each side of the central rod; and

said hinge means in each instance has a pivoting axis inclined from the top of the slide downwardly and outwardly requiring said side rods, upon outward swinging, to have their outer end portions to come into positions above the central rod.

3. A kite frame comprising a central rod having front and rear ends; a slide shiftable along the central rod; a pair of side rods, one rod on each side of the central 5 rod and having inner and outer ends;

said slide being made out of a flexible material and having a central bore through which passes said central rod; a socket carried by the slide, one on each side of the central rod bore;

the inner ends of the side rods being fitted into said sockets; and

said slide having a hinge portion inclined downwardly and rearwardly between said bore and each of said sockets directing the side rods entering therein to swing by their outer ends away from and above said central rod. 4. In a kite having a central rod having top and bottom sides and a pair of side rods, the combination therewith of a slide member having a central portion with a bore through which said central rod slides; a flexible extension from each side of said central portion; a socket on each of said extensions and receiving an end portion of a side rod therein; said sockets normally directing said side rods along said central rod in approximate parallelism therewith; said extensions having a hinge portion in each of said extensions between a socket and said central portion; and said hinge portion being angularly directed in relation to said bore to tilt upwardly said sockets and direct outer ends of said side rods upwardly upon their being swung outwardly from along the sides of said central rod.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1915 Patchel 244-153 1/1964 Gould 244153 

1. A KITE COMPRISING A CENTRAL ROD WITH FRONT AND REAR END PORTIONS; A PAIR OF SIDE RODS, ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE CENTRAL ROD, AND EACH ROD HAVING AN OUTER AND INNER END; A COVER ATTACHED TO SAID CENTRAL ROD FRONT AND REAR END PORTIONS AND ALSO TO EACH OF SAID SIDE ROD OUTER END PORTIONS; A SLIDE SLIDABLY CARRIED ON SAID CENTRAL ROD BETWEEN THE ZONES OF SAID COVER ATTACHMENT TO THE CENTRAL ROD; SAID SIDE RODS HAVING THEIR INNER ENDS ATTACHED TO SAID SLIDE, ONE AT EACH SIDE OF THE CENTRAL ROD; SAID CENTRAL ROD HAVING AN ABUTMENT THEREON OVER WHICH SAID SLIDE MAY TRAVEL IN SHIFTING ALONG THE CENTRAL ROD; 